3% Indians filed returns in 2015-16, 82L had non-taxable income
What's the story
Reports released by the Income Tax department have some surprising revelations. In 2015-16, only 4.07cr Indians filed I-T returns; that's roughly 3% of India's 1.02bn-strong population. Of these, 82L had zero taxable income. Only 1,000 declared income between Rs. 5-10cr. Ironically, luxury cars like Mercedes Benz, Audi and BMW registered annual sales of 35,000 units. The detailed report is interesting indeed.
Stats-I
Number of crorepatis rose but overall income fell by Rs.50,000cr
Of the 4.07cr that filed I-T returns, 82L declared income less than Rs. 2.5L, a non-taxable slab. The maximum, 1.33cr individuals, were in the Rs. 2.5-3.5L income slab, the lowest tax bracket. Surprisingly, the number of individuals reporting income of over Rs. 1cr rose 23from 48,417 (2014-15) to 59,830, but their total income fell from Rs. 2.05L crore (2014-15) to Rs. 1.54L crore.
Stats-II
Seven earned above Rs. 500cr last year, only one now
The number of individuals in the Rs.100-500cr slab rose from 17 to 31, but that in the over Rs. 500cr slab fell from seven to just one. In 2015-16, the overall income declared by taxpayers was Rs. 21.27L crore, up from Rs. 18.41L crore the previous year. Compared to the 82L non-taxable filers this time, 1.37cr had declared income below Rs. 2.5L last year.